The Connected Home

We at The Connected Home are obviously in favor of what we see as he inevitable transition into the new world of the truly connected home, whatever that will eventually mean. Getting there from here will however be a fitful process of trial and error and hopefully learning along the way.Today's post looks at some recent issues raised about the "State of the Art" and some realities of the fledgling marketplace.

Energy use and efficiency get a lot of ink in the connected-home space, but security is actually the biggest driver right now. Even so, Comcast and Alarm.com's decision to purchase Icontrol is a testament to the the sector's growing pains, and illustrates the difficulty in developing the ideal suite of connected products.

For Comcast, the deal will bring technology development in-house. The Converge platform (not to be confused with Comverge) powers Xfinity Home's inner working, including managing security, home automation and thermostats.

"We will strategically invest in its technology and technologists, so that we can deliver new features, products and services to both individual Xfinity Home customers and enterprise-level Converge customers, faster than ever before," Comcast said in a statement. h/t utilitydive.com

In this next section, The Connected Lifestyle laments the tendency of many of today's conencted products being "Throw aways," with limited expected lives, while I desires a more fundamentally long term set of products we can all live with functionally well into the future. ​

The last twelve months have seen a redoubling in efforts to bring the connected home experience to ‘the common man’. As a result, companies are cutting corners and putting products to market that are often barely capable of replacing the existing systems they aim to revolutionise. From smart bulbs and intelligent locks to more outlandish crowdfunded ideas such as clothes-folding robots and automated watering systems for the garden, a surfeit of off-the-shelf products on the market has emerged.

With several of these products, the onus is generally on the customer to work out what devices will speak to which, and plan for this accordingly. Since many of them will not automatically communicate with each other, the do-it-yourself route quickly becomes a minefield of jargon, standards and compatibility, requiring significant research on the part of the homeowner before everything can be made to work together in harmony.

The most high-profile example of this in the connected home is Revolv, a smart hub bought by Nest and subsequently thrown onto the technological scrap heap. Like many similar smart home products aimed at early adopters, it had a small user base, yet these customers were left with a piece of kit that was inoperable only a short time after it had been purchased.Via connectedlife.style

If you live in the frost belt, you may be aware of the issues of burst pipes due to freezing int he winter. While most frequently an issue of lake side cabins, the problem can affect people in a lot of different circumstances. thus a new entry in the connected home space...

TechCrunch. “By adding the smart water leak detector (with a humidity and temperature sensor) as well as our existing smart nine-volt battery for smoke alarms, we are now now capable of truly capturing bits of information around the home and turning them into appropriate notifications when they are most important to the consumer.”

The $49 device connects to the smart home platform the company set up for its smoke detectors, bringing alerts connected to water leaks, freezing, and changes in temperature and humidity, all of which can lead to expensive home damage – or, at the very least, pricing heating bills.

The detector utilizes WiFi, sending alerts to the company’s app (the same one utilized by its smoke detector). Roost promises a simple set up and three years of battery life, so you won’t have to think about it for while. It goes on sale this fall.h/t techcrunch.com

he evolution and hiccups will continue, but however they evolve we at The Connected Home will be here to monitor the progress and when and where possible make it easier for you to access the tools you want and need. Now frankly, we are still primarily your local Comcast Store in many people's minds, but that belies our ongoing relationship with Satellite TV, Home Security and plain old fashioned telephone land lines. Let us be your entry point into the connected home of the future.

The FCC has been pushing the Cable Industry to allow consumers to access "universal" devices to access cable and other services. The industry doesn't like this idea because it would remove a revenue stream from their operations and make it easier for customers to access other programming sources. Now a half year after the FCC made its initial proposals, the industry is responding with their own proposal.

The counter offer was presented this week at meetings with the FCC, with representatives from Comcast, AT&T/DirecTV, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), and more in attendance.

The first part of the cable companies' plan involves ditching set-top boxes altogether, freeing customers from having to lease equipment, and saving money in the process. This aspect is sure to please the FCC, but cable companies' prime interest is in maintaining things like DRM and advertising channels.

Replacing set-top boxes would be HTML5-based apps that could run on a range of devices, including smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs. These apps would be free and simple to implement for device manufacturers, and would offer universal search features that access not only the cable provider's content, but streaming services like Netflix as well.
Cable industry offers alternate plan to FCCs unlocked set-top boxes - SlashGear read more at slashgear.com

So what does the FCC Think of the Industries new plan? According to Politico...

​— THE FCC DIDN’T HATE IT: The FCC and its supporters did not endorse the proposal. But they also expressed a willingness to hear more details — a noteworthy development in what’s become a bitter debate. The FCC said it “looks forward” to getting more specifics, while the Consumer Video Choice Coalition — which includes set-top box plan proponents Google and Public Knowledge — said the proposal “presents both some positive movement and some familiar limitations that could fall short of delivering an open, competitive marketplace.”read more at politico.com

There does seem to be some partisanship involved int he debate between idnsutry and the FCC and Congress whose oversight and budgetary heft are clearly in play as funding for the FCC is uo for debate.

Congressional Democrats are throwing their weight behind a proposal by the Federal Communications Commission to bring competition to the cable set-top box market.

"Opponents of the FCC's proposal to unlock the cable box have thrown together a salad of criticisms to derail it and have kept the market locked up for 20 years at a yearly intake of $20 billion," Eshoo said at the press conference. "It's time for innovation and competition in this market so consumers can finally win."

But critics say the FCC's rules are unnecessary in a market that's moving away from a box in favor of apps that run on mobile devices, gaming consoles and TVs.

"Today, anyone with an Internet connection can buy a streaming device for less than $50 and access thousands of movies and TV shows, including from networks traditionally only available through your cable company's box, such as ESPN, CBS, Disney, Showtime and others," Roku CEO Anthony Wood said in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal in April.read more at cnet.com

Whatever the outcome, if you are looking for the Best Deal for Cable and Internet Service, call upon The Connected Home in Minneapolis for honest answers to all your cable, internet or satellite TV needs. The Connected Home is an independent service that offer free to consumer advice and price comparisons. We can help you get the best deal for the way you use the internet, and or TV. See our Primary service area map below. However, know that we can help you anywhere in the state and beyond. So if you are looking to add service to your summer cabin, give us a call.

​Time Warner Being Acquired via a Merger with Charter Communications.

Is this good or bad for Twin Cities Residents? Probably indirect at most, as the bulk of the area is covered by Comcast, but there is a Charter Presence in the Metro, and what happens in one case may easily repeat itself elsewhere.What Does Charter Have to Sa

As shown in the above chart, and as of the end of 2015, Comcast’s (CMCSA) Internet customer base was the largest in the United States. Following Charter’s customer base, the third-largest Internet customer base was AT&T’s (T). Verizon (VZ) had the fourth-largest Internet subscriber base.

For a diversified exposure to some of the largest cable companies in the United States, you could consider investing in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The ETF held a total of ~0.88% in Comcast (CMCSA) and Cablevision Systems (CVC) as of May 25, 2016.Via marketrealist.com========

Cable industry consolidation, specifically Comcast's (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 2011 purchase of NBCUniversal, have had a detrimental impact on minority programming, progressive groups Public Knowledge and Common Cause said in a letter to the FCC.Commenting on the agency's 2016 Hispanic Television Study, the groups referenced Comcast's court battle with Liberman Broadcasting — the MSO has been accused in a lawsuit of favoring its own Telemundo and NBC Universo channels over Liberman's Spanish language networks in terms of offering distribution. Public Knowledge and Common Cause also called for diversity conditions tied to Charter Communications' (NASDAQ: CHTR) takeovers of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks to be enforced. For more: - read this Public Knowledge letter to the FCC

Charter has nearly quadrupled in size as a result of the transactions, going from 6.8 million customers to about 25.4 million in 41 states, second in the US after Comcast's 28 million. The merger drew opposition from some advocacy groups, including one that took to calling the new Charter "Mega Cable." The cost of the acquisitions was originally expected to be about $67.1 billion, though Charter will reportedly end up paying a bit more than that.

Comcast previously attempted to buy Time Warner Cable, but the merger was stopped last year by federal regulators who detailed concerns about potential harm to online video services.

Jon Brodkin / Jon is Ars Technica's senior IT reporter, covering the FCC and broadband, telecommunications, wireless technology, and more.read more at arstechnica.com

Cable industry consolidation, specifically Comcast's (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 2011 purchase of NBCUniversal, have had a detrimental impact on minority programming, progressive groups Public Knowledge and Common Cause said in a letter to the FCC.

Commenting on the agency's 2016 Hispanic Television Study, the groups referenced Comcast's court battle with Liberman Broadcasting — the MSO has been accused in a lawsuit of favoring its own Telemundo and NBC Universo channels over Liberman's Spanish language networks in terms of offering distribution.

Public Knowledge and Common Cause also called for diversity conditions tied to Charter Communications' (NASDAQ: CHTR) takeovers of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks to be enforced. read more at fiercecable.com

Cable will always generate controversy. It affects so many people in so many dfferent ways. What we can say for sure is that if Comcast is your choice for internet access, TV programing, Security or Phone service,, the best place to get signed up in the Minneapolis St Paul area is not via their call centers.A better plan is to call The Connected Home. We are a Comcast Store, that will help you get hooked up quickly without a lot of hassle and wait time. Our staff can help you whether you want the basic plan or one of the standard bundles - without hassling you to upgrade. And should you decide you prefer to go the satellite route we can help you there as well, whether you want to go with Dish or Direct=TV. We handle them all and with no charge to you.

The Federal Communications Commission's 600-megahertz airwave spectrum auction, which started yesterday and should run til September, gives Big Media "one of the last chances to secure low-band broadband spectrum for long-distance and in-building Internet service" -- and first-day action has already been "dramatically altering the supply/demand outlook" and "leveling out the playing field as we enter into a 5G world," writes analyst Amy Yong at Macquarie Securities.

Also: "AT&T and Verizon have larger holdings of low-band spectrum but have expressed interest in bulking up in large markets including: New York City, Dallas, and San Francisco. Verizon's acquisition of XO also gives it the option to purchase XO’s spectrum holding entity in ’18; the entity holds high-band spectrum which could be particularly useful in 5G development." read more at philly.com

There are a lot of sports on Cable and Broadcast TV as well. We all appreciate our home teams, especially when they are winning. But is that the reason for so much sports programming?

Earlier this month, Multichannel News reported that Comcast’s (CMCSA) NBC Sports Digital is set to launch Playmaker Media, a service that will provide “end-to-end support” for partners that are looking to deliver live and on-demand streams.” The IOC (International Olympic Committee) would be this service’s first client. Playmaker Media will provide support to the live streaming of the Olympic Committee’s Olympic Channel, which is expected to launch later in the year.

Comcast reiterated the importance of sports programming for the company at the JPMorgan (JPM) Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference. It stated that “And what you’re trying to do on the content side is make sure that you’re using live programming of which sports is the best, among the best, to reach audiences and make your networks and channels must-have for carriage in all forms. So it helps drive retrains fees and affiliate fees obviously on the revenue line for the content side of the house.”

Comcast’s NBCUniversal Broadcast Television business earns the majority of its revenues from advertising and retransmission revenues. In a bid to step up its advertising revenues, this segment has acquired sports broadcasting rights for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (EWZ). Earlier this year, the company announced that NBC and CBS (CBS) will telecast five Thursday night football games each.​ read more at marketrealist.com

Comcast is clearly pushing X1 as its main USP when marketing its service to new and existing customers. They are continuing to make investments in the system.

Comcast has released another batch of additions and enhancements for X1, its next-gen video platform, led off by the commercial rollout of a feature that was previously being tested through its Labs section.

The X1 “Remind” feature is now featured on the action bar for all program listings. “Once activated, an X1 notification will appear reminding you it’s time to tune in. Users who previously enabled Reminders via Labs will continue to have access to this feature, and is now available to everyone,” Peter Nush, Comcast Cable’s VP of product management, explained in this blog post.

Comcast has also added a notification for Auto Extend, a feature that ensures that live events recorded to the DVR will be automatically extended if, for example, a sporting event goes into overtime. The new notification now shows up when the viewer is playing back the recording. Comcast introduced Auto Extend for X1 in August 2015.

X1 now also supports a “self-healing” response system that enters play when the playback of a completed DVR recording somehow fails. In those situations, the system will provide the customer with all available alternatives for viewing the program. read more at multichannel.com

So how is Comcast doing in terms of attracting customers with X1 to its Comcast Store?

​At the JPMorgan (JPM) Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, Comcast was asked about the penetration of its X1 set-top box. In fiscal 1Q16, Comcast’s X1 set-top box had a penetration of 35% and Comcast expects the penetration of its X1 set-top box to be around 50% by the end of 2016. Comcast expects its X1 penetration to be deeper in 2017, though not 100%.

As of the end of 1Q16, 35% of Comcast’s video customers were using the company’s X1 platform with the voice remote. 86% of Comcast’s subscribers were using XFINITY On Demand on a monthly basis, with 25 hours per month of viewing on average. On May 4, the company also introduced a Spanish Kids Zone on its XFINITY platform.

Around 42% of Comcast’s subscribers are using its mobile TV Everywhere apps on a monthly basis, up by 32% from last year. These customers are viewing an average of seven hours of content each month. As more and more Comcast customers use the company’s X1 platform, the company’s product churn is dropping.

Comcast continues to push its X1 platform and add more features to make the platform more attractive for its customers. As a part of Comcast’s annual Watchathon Week, which promotes VoD viewing, the company made Sony’s (SNE) free, ad-supported streaming network, Crackle, available on its XFINITY On Demand service.

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